Quinn, Falcons staff failed to play it safe

NFL coaches are smart guys. Sometimes, they outsmart themselves.

It’s hard not to feel for the Atlanta Falcons and their fans. Super Bowl LI appeared to be theirs, perhaps should have been, but it’s not. Why? The Falcons coaches didn’t play the odds.

NFL coaches often get criticized for being too conservative, playing it safe instead of seizing victory in dramatic fashion. That bravado sounds good, the fans love it, but it’s not how games are won. Sometimes, all you need is common sense.

In the fourth quarter Sunday night, it’s the road not taken that will haunt Atlanta.

Leading 28- 20, first down at the New England 22, less than five minutes on the clock. This is an easy call, right? If they don’t gain another yard, it’s a 39- yard field goal attempt for one of the best kickers in the game. Matt Bryant made 34 of 37 attempts in the regular season, including a 59- yarder.

Grind the clock with three running plays and kick a field goal right here, and there’s no way the Patriots have time to make up an 11- point deficit. Maybe Tom Brady hurries his team down the field to score a late touchdown, but the Patriots are out of time and lose by three.

Yes, Bryant could have missed or the kick could have been blocked. But he’s a 90%- plus kicker. I’d take that chance.

Instead, the Falcons got no points and took a little more than one minute off the clock before punting — giving Tom Brady an opening you just can’t give Tom Brady. More than three minutes for a guy who already had four Super Bowl rings?

Was anyone really surprised Brady marched his team to a touchdown and two- point conversion to tie the score? As soon as Atlanta punted, I expected it. The Falcons were reeling.

And when the game went into overtime, it was like a Hollywood script watching Brady march his team right down the field for the win.

The devastated Falcons would later cite the familiar refrains in recalling that ill- fated possession. Being aggressive is what got us here, they said, and going for it is our identity. Well, here’s another part of the Falcons’ identity: They haven’t won a Super Bowl in 51 seasons.

We’ve seen this in the big game before. Atlanta coach Dan Quinn has, too. He was the defensive coordinator for Seattle two years ago in Glendale, Ariz., when the Seahawks had the ball on New England’s 1- yard line — 3 feet from a winning score — and decided to throw a pass instead of handing the ball to bulldozer Marshawn Lynch, who had been ripping through the Patriots defense.

That pass was intercepted in the end zone by Malcolm Butler. That play call gets my vote as the worst in Super Bowl history.

I was at that game. Sunday night at NRG Stadium, it was eerie to see it happen again.

It’s hard to know what coaches are thinking at those moments. I’m sure they believe in their players, but the margin of error at the end of these games is so small, especially when you have the best coach and quarterback in NFL history on the other side.

Today, everyone is saying the right things, predicting Atlanta will be back. Maybe so, they have a talented young team.

Their 41- year- old kicker is pretty good, too.

Dan Quinn, left, and the Falcons flopped late Sunday.